A LA CARTE

A LA CARTE; Pleasing Surprise at a Shopping Center

By RICHARD JAY SCHOLEM

Published: March 3, 2002

UNEXPECTED is the word for the new Setauket Pastaria. Next to the How How Chinese restaurant and just a few doors from a bagel shop in the Kohl's Shopping Center, at 4082 Nesconset Highway in Setauket (631-476-8600), Setauket Pastaria's name andlocation evoke familiar associations and low expectations.

Pastarias usually are bare-bones storefront pasta and pizza joints. Suburban shopping center Italian restaurants offering ordinary food at predictable prices in modest surroundings are no more exciting or enticing than crab grass.

Setauket Pastaria is neither. What was a pizzeria at this site has been transformed into a warm, woody beauty that looks more expensive than it is. Patrons first pass a bustling pizza takeout counter and one or two bare cafe tables for those who want to devour their slices and pies on the premises. Aside from a mini version on the children's menu, there's no pizza in the dining room.

But there is style, charm and luxury. One wall sports a hand-painted mural (which an Argentine artist took the better part of a year to complete) of an Italian street scene complete with a flower shop, antique store, restaurant and cobblestone road. An awning that duplicates the one outside Setauket Pastaria juts out from one of the mural's stores. High wrap-around wood-trimmed windows envelop the remainder of the room. Ceiling spotlights, flickering lanterns and candles cast their glow on plants, wood paneling, a recessed wall wine rack, flowers, grape vines, faux bricks, white tablecloths and upholstered wrought-iron chairs.

The parmigiana, piccata, pizzaiola-type menu, with its typical pasta, chicken, veal, beef and seafood selections, is down-the-line traditional. Most of its solid, earthy listings are satisfying choices. Occasionally the kitchen pulls its punches, perhaps playing it safe for what is perceived as a conservative clientele.

For example, an otherwise exemplary pistachio-crusted salmon ($19) needed more zing from its horseradish sauce; tiny, sweet baked clams oreganata ($8) would have been even better with more assertive seasonings in their bread-crumb coating; and the flat dressing on the farm-fresh spinach salad ($8) needed more of a vinegar edge.

Calamari pescatore fra diavolo ($19), a mantle of mussels, clams and calamari over linguine, had no such problem. Its tomato sauce, while not blowtorch hot, provided some welcome spicy kick.

As always, remember the restaurant's name. Pastas shine. Carbonara ($14) is a rich, creamy pea-studded triumph, and a big soup bowl of al dente penne, snappy sausage and just slightly bitter broccoli rape in a smooth Marsala sauce ($15) was a peasanty pleasure. Only a plate of gummy-not-fluffy gnocchi ($16) in a tangy pesto sauce with moist grilled chicken prevented a pasta clean sweep.

Desserts ($5) are homemade and noteworthy. The marbled American cheese cake was irresistible and the delicate, velvety crème brûlée, despite its slightly soft surface, proved to be delicious. Cinnamon-covered rice pudding was standard, but chocolate mousse, light and airy in texture, with intense flavor and shards of solid chocolate at its base, was superb.

The alert concerned servers on a Saturday night were superb, too. They were quite a contrast to the chaotic confused crew that was totally overwhelmed on an unexpectedly busy Monday evening. On that visit we sat for 25 minutes without bread or water, couldn't get that bread basket refilled despite requests, had dishes plunked down on top of others waiting to be cleared, had to tell the waitresses who ordered what and wait as courses arrived piecemeal with noticeable gaps in between.

The second time around the A-team was on the scene, the pizza section was smaller and the restaurant's space had been expanded to accommodate the many diners who have descended on the instantly popular Setauket Pastaria.

Openings

Eldorado Southern BBQ, a 180-seat Texas roadhouse-style restaurant, opened at 1986 Middle Country Road in Centereach (631-588-7227) in late January. It specializes in rustic dishes like St. Louis ribs, brisket and pulled pork at prices that range from $6 (a burger with French fries and cole slaw) to $16 (a rib-shrimp combination plate). Eldorado prepares its meat in two outdoor smokers (10 hours for pork butts and brisket, 2 to 3 for ribs). Jim Rehm and Jim DiVilio, who own Eldorado, also run the Laguna Grill in Woodbury.

Potpourri

Maxxel's, 540 Jericho Turnpike, Mineola (516-741-7387), will present a dinner concert on March 21 to celebrate the arrival of spring. The evening will begin with a 6:30 cocktail hour. Dr. Kenneth Gartner, a pianist, music teacher and conductor from New York City, will play Chopin pieces until 7:30. A $68, five-course dinner follows the concert. The menu, prepared by Stuart Brown, the chef, features dishes like roasted veal tenderloin, salsify, plum tomato fondue, red wine sauce and pan-seared Chilean sea bass, Israeli couscous and pomegranate jus.

Share Our Strength's ''Taste of the Nation'' Hamptons spring brunch event will be held at Saracen, 108 Wainscott Stone Road at Montauk Highway, Wainscott (631-537-6255), on April 21 from 1 to 4 p.m. Share Our Strength works toward ending hunger and poverty in the United States and around the world.